Russians Have Their Own Ideas of Democracy

James Bell is the director of international survey research for the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

September 24, 2012

The Kremlin’s demand that the U.S. Agency for International Development cease its activities in Russia follows months of accusations by Vladimir Putin that recent anti-government protests in Russia are the result of meddling by the U.S. and other Western governments. However, many Russians may not be convinced that such meddling is a fact.

In the wake of the Russian presidential vote this past spring, a Pew Global Attitudes survey found that 58 percent of Russians believed the election protests were home-grown, rather than the result of Western governments attempting to destabilize Russia. Only 25 percent thought foreign powers were behind the protests. Moreover, 56 percent supported the protests for free elections, and fully 64 percent agreed that attending demonstrations gave people like themselves an opportunity to express their opinion.

While many disagree with the Kremlin about who is behind recent protests, most want their country’s political future to be its own.

Over all, the survey revealed a wide gap between the freedoms and rights Russians valued and what they experienced in real life. Fully 71 percent said that it was very important to live in a country where the courts treat everyone the same; yet, only 17 percent said this described Russia very well. Similarly, 52 percent said it was very important to live in a country with honest elections, but just 16 percent stated this was the case in Russia. Across these and other measures of political freedom, the gap between what Russians said is important and what they witnessed at home widened significantly between 2009 and 2012.

Perhaps reflecting their long standing ambivalence regarding democracy, Russians this past spring continued to believe a firm hand was needed to guide their country. Specifically, by a 25 percentage point margin, more said a strong leader — as opposed to a democratic government — was best equipped to solve Russia’s problems. And many seemed satisfied that Vladimir Putin, in particular, was at the helm of state: 72 percent of those polled had a favorable opinion of the Russian president.

Despite his broad popularity, Putin’s publicized suspicions about Western intentions appear to have had little impact on Russian views of the United States. In the spring, 52 percent expressed a favorable opinion of America, essentially unchanged from the previous year. At the same time, though, Russians were very negative about political exports from the United States — just 26 percent said they liked American ideas about democracy.
While many Russians disagree with the Kremlin about who is behind the recent protests in Moscow and other cities, most agree that Russia’s political future should be its own.

With the revelations that a U.S. agency secretly developed a Twitter-like network for Cuba, we ask experts if the United States is justified in using assistance to promote democracy and other political changes abroad?